When you load the app, it gives you clear instructions on how to take the two photosI have long been interested in how various 3D effects work, and how to make them. Now I can, with 3D Camera by Juicy Bits (£1.19). It allows you to take two photos, with the second one having a semi-transparent overlay of the first to help you align them. Then once you have taken them, you can select from multiple 3D formats and save the 3D image to your Camera Roll.

There are three different formats of 3D images you can make with this app:- anaglyph, stereogram, and wigglegram.

Anaglyph is the format we all recognise as the typical red and blue images which require the appropriate glasses to view as a 3D image (cheap pairs can be found on eBay among others). The app gives us the option of having the image displayed as grey (pure red and blue) or colour (red and blue with tints of the original image colours).

Above: Sample analglyph greyAbove: Sample anaglyph colourThe next method is the stereogram "parallel" format, where it places the two images side by side, and you must train your eyes to not focus on them, but to relax your eyes so they see through them and they are out of focus. Eventually, you trick your eyes into thinking the two images are in fact the same object and focus on it as one object, giving it a 3D effect without the need for special glasses.

Finally, we have the wigglegram format, which can be created but not saved in the apps current version. However, the developer has said an upcoming version will allow the saving and sharing of this format, and an example from the developer can be found here. What you will see is the two images in an animated format that flicks between them- it is not actually 3D, but gives a sense of depth to the image.

Out of the three formats, I prefer the anaglyph in colour the best. The stereogram format is very good, but it can take a while to train your eyes to view an image in 3D, and some people just can't do it at all. And the wigglegram format is different, but is nowhere near as effective as the others. The anaglyph format can be put to great use with this app, and I can imagine a lot of landscape photos would really benefit from it (as you can see above). The effect is excellent if the photos are taken correctly, and the app makes it very easy to swap between the different formats, even if you just want to see if the photo is best in colour or grey.

Once the 3D image is created, if it is anything other than the wigglegram format, the app can then give you options to save it to your Camera Roll, save the originals to the Camera Roll, send the image directly to Facebook, or send it directly to Twitpic. I found sending it to Facebook worked very well without hickup.

Finally, the developer has mentioned the following additional features to be available in an upcoming update:

• Ability to use your finger to re-align images after they’ve been taken
• Ability to control or eliminate the “black bar” between the left and right stereogram images
• Ability to save/send wigglegram animations
• Ability to take advantage of the increased camera resolution on the iPhone 3GS models
• Ability to upload directly to Flickr

Overall, this is a highly recommended app for those interested in giving their photos a little depth.

AppStore Link: 3D Camera £1.19 ($1.99)

Barry is an Apple fan and developer of Punk Justice for the iPhone/iPod Touch